Back-rest for canoes.



I. E. BENSON. BACK BEST FOR. GANOBS. APPLICATION TILED AFB. 6, 1912.

- Patented May 21, 1912.

Inventor? JOHN E. BENSON, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

BACK-REST FOR GANOES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 6, 1912.

Patented May 21, 1912. Serial No. 688,933.

I To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, JOHN E. BENSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Back-Rests for Canoes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a lazy back or back rest for canoes and has in view roviding a device of the character which shall be expansible and elastic and at the same time may be folded into very small space.

It is well known that the average locker for a canoe provides only a limited amount of space. The back rests on the market generally come in pairs folding one upon the other, and it requires at least two such pairs to provide the necessary equipment of a canoe. When two pairs of the folding rests are laid one on top,of the other, they make a pile four or five inches high which takes up a large part of the space of the locker, leaving little room for pillows or other equipment which it may be desired to place in the locker. My back rest is independently adjustable so that it may be used as a single rest, that is a rest for one person, or a back rest for two persons as de sired. A pair of my back rests when folded together will lie in a space not to exceed one and a half inches thick and, therefore, will occupy very little room in the locker.

The full objects and advantages of my invention will appear in connection with the detailed description thereof and are particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings illustrating the application of my invention in one form,Figure 1 is a plan view of my back rest partly expanded. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the back rest. entirely folded. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a canoe showing one of my back rests expanded and in position therein. Figs. 4 and 5 are detailed views showing one means of pivotally connecting the sections of my back rest together.

In constructing my back rest, I employ a series of strips of wood 10 of equal length and pivotally connect the same together as indicated at 11 at the centers of said bars, also connecting the bars pivotally at the ends thereof as indicated at 12. The end members of bars 10 are pivotally connected at the centers thereof as indicated at 13 with half length bars 14 which in turn are connected pivotally at 15 with the ends of the adjacent bars 10, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2. member which is indefinitely expansible formed of bars held parallel and uniformly spaced whether little or much expanded, the upper edge of said member comprising two more spaces than the lower edge so that as the back rest is expanded it becomes more and more wedge shaped, rendering it capable of adapting itself to the contour of the sides of the canoe. The strips 10 and 1 1 may be made extremely thin, strips from one-fourth to five-sixteenths of an inch thick of good hard wood providing a member amply strong for the purpose so that when folded the thickness of the back rest will be little more than one-half an inch and a pair of said rests will occupy a space of only slightly more than one inch in thickness.

Various methods may be employed for pivotally securing together the bars 10 and 1 1 at and intermediate their ends. The means shown in Figs. 1 and 2 are ordinary rivets extending through the bodies of the bars in a well known way. \Vhere it is desired to have the outsidcs of the bars entirely free from rivets or similar obstructions a fastening such as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 may be employed. This involves plates 16 and 17 secured to the facing sides of the bars but overlap ing said bars, as indicated at 18 in Fig. 5. xtending through alining apertures in the plates is a rivet having a head 21 at one side of plate 16 and being engaged by a spring 22 on the other side of plate 17, the spring holding the two bars in pivotal contact. A doubleheaded rivet without the spring maybe used if desired.

In Fig. 3 is shown the manner of using the back rest. The ends of the back rest will engage a slat 24 of the bottom of the canoe, and the back rest will extend angularly backward resting upon one of the thwarts 25. It is obvious that the back rest may be expanded as desired to occupy greater or less space athwart the canoe. When it is folded up, it may be placed adjacent the narrow end thwart in the extreme end of the canoe to form a back rest for a single person. When the canoe has been beached and it is desired to leave the same temporarily, it.is not necessary to remove the back rest or to step over the same as it may be pushed in at one side readily fold- This arrangement gives a mg without in any way being displaced from its position so that when the canoeist returns, the back rest may again be expanded by .a singlemovement of the hand and is ready for service.

The simplicity and cheapness of my device will be apparent. It can be made in a single size which may be used with any form or size of canoe. It is extremely light, strong and at-the same time flexible to a high degree. Above all, it folds into such compact form as to require the smallest concceivable amount of space in the locker.

Aside of the back rest I claim,

1. A back rest for canoes comprising a set of strips pivotally connected at their centers and ends, two of said strips at the same being of half length whereby an expansible member is provided of greater width along one side than the other.

2. A back rest for canoes comprising a series of thin strips of wood, part of said strips being pivotally connected at their ends to the ends of other strips and at their centers to the centers of other strips, the

two end strips being connected at one end with ends of other strips, and at their centers with the ends of short strips pivotally connected at their other ends with the ends of said first named strips, all of said pivotal connections comprising pivot members concealed between the said bars.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two wltnesses.

JOHN E. BENSON.

WVitnesses F. A. WiilTELEY, H. A. BOWMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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